We develop and solve a novel model for the combustion of reactive solutions impregnated into a cellulose carrier. This procedure has been shown to be effective in the synthesis of metallic oxides with a nanoscale microstructure, which are suitable for catalyst applications. The model involves three reactions, (i) combustion of the carrier matrix, (ii) an endothermic reaction related to the decomposition or gasification of the synthesis reaction precursors and (iii) the exothermic oxide synthesis reaction. This model is shown to provide qualitative agreement with experimental observations. A parametric study of the model demonstrates that increasing the heat released via the leading cellulose burning reaction (i) is most favorable in terms of increasing the reaction yield and providing conditions for smaller size of the synthesized material. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.